Of the numerous insights he shared from his adventure turning junk into a multiple million dollar franchise, what participants have most emailed me about were the "ten business commandments" Nick and his business partner Omar penned in their book, The Effortless Entrepreneur. Without giving them all away (buy the book to get them all), here are my personal favorites:
Number one: Never sacrifice health, family or friendships for business reasons. Executives and entrepreneurs I work with who seem to love their work the most have achieved a balance. Because they make time for health, family and friends they are then able to bring more energy to their work. They get more done in less time with more joy.
Number six: Work ON the business from the outside, not IN it. The samurai, before going to battle, used to reach a mental state of detachment. They entered battle not attached to the fight. Because they maintained perspective, they hesitated less. Ironically by caring less, they were actually able to win more. The same is true with business.
Number seven: Develop staff, client, and community loyalty. Great leaders and businesses, at least the ones that sustain, create "pull." They shape an environment in which masses of people want them to succeed. This collective power of having colleagues and customers and the community at large rooting for you creates a tangible competitive advantage. It is like playing every game on your home field.
There are seven more as important as these. But even if you start here, I think you will see new energy build behind you mission. Ask yourself:
1) What parts of your life (health, family, friends) are you putting on hold today to focus on your job or business? How could you make time for those things now, this week?
2) How can you achieve a Zen-like state of detached commitment regarding your work? Consider what would really happen if you failed. Explore the worst case scenarios. You are likely to find it not as scary as you feared.
3) How can you create "pull" for your career, your job, your business? How can you adjust what you are doing or how you engage key stakeholders so they are passionate about supporting your success?